Pippen scored seven of his 14 points in the final two minutes to
lift the Trail Blazers to their 11th straight victory, an 85-78
triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Portland matched the second-longest winning streak in franchise
history. It also won 11 in a row during the 1990-91, 1996-97
and 1999-2000 seasons. The team record is 16 in the 1990-91
campaign.

The Timberwolves were within 74-73 after Kevin Garnett capped a 6-0
surge with a jumper at the 2:11 mark. Pippen, who made just two of
his first nine shots, fired in a 22-footer with 1:53 to go.

Garnett missed a scoop shot at the other end and Pippen drilled a
3-pointer from the right corner, making it 79-73 with 1:29 left. He
added two free throws 13 seconds later.

"I just wanted to be aggressive," Pippen said. "I got some great
looks at the basket. I just sit back and see if my shot is there.
I had some good rhythm."

"Scottie came in and seemed to make every big shot when we needed
it," Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said. "He's done that so many
times before and he likes to be in that position -- putting the
dagger three in the opponent or hitting a couple of clutch free
throws."

Minnesota cut the deficit to 82-78 and had a chance to get closer
when Pippen missed a jumper. But Chauncey Billups also missed with
22 seconds left and Damon Stoudamire made two free throws to seal it
for Portland.

Rasheed Wallace had 28 points and 15 rebounds for the Blazers (37-24),
who survived 37 percent shooting (29-of-79) and ended a four-game
slide against the Timberwolves.

The Blazers have been relying on defense during their streak, giving
up an average of less than 89 points per game.

"I've talked about defense from the start but now we're talking
about it at every timeout," Cheeks said. "Rather than going to (the)
clipboard, we start talking about defense. Some of my assistant
coaches said that's what I should be doing, because executing defense
comes from repitition -- talking about it over and over again."

"Since we've been on this winning streak, we've gutted a few games
out," Pippen said.

Pippen also was the primary defender on Minnesota All-Star guard
Wally Szczerbiak, who was limited to 10 shots and nine points.

"Wally had to work for everything and really didn't hit his shots,"
Portland guard Bonzi Wells said.

"Pippen did a really nice job on Wally, but we were very inconsistent,"
Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said.

Garnett had 19 points and 13 rebounds and former Blazer Gary Trent
scored 16 points for Minnesota (40-21), which has lost two in a row
and is just three games ahead of surging Portland in the Western
Conference standings.

"At this stage, it's playoff basketball," Garnett said. "They've
won 11 in a row and they're trying to establish themselves. We just
have to come out and play aggressive."

Minnesota held a 58-56 lead entering the fourth quarter and there
were six lead changes until Wells tipped in a miss to give
Portland a 68-67 edge and trigger an 8-0 burst. Wallace buried a
3-pointer and Wells hit a free throw and driving layup for a 74-67
advantage with 4:23 to go.

Back came the Timberwolves. Garnett and Nesterovic threw in hook
shots and Garnett's jumper made it a one-point game again.

Wells scored 14 points for the Blazers, who helped themselves by
scoring 20 points off 18 turnovers by the Wolves and making 22-of-27
free throws.